It is three years since Race Retro has been held and many enthusiasts of historic rallying have missed it. Set in Stoneleigh Park near Coventry, it is an ideal location for this type of event. It is an agricultural centre with an exhibition hall, a variety of sheds and tarmac tracks. Race Retro is a unique event with an indoor exhibition of specialist suppliers supported by a live rally stage.
The rally stage is populated by a collection of 130 rally cars from the 50’s and 60’s, through the Group B era to recent rallying history. Every time the regulations change it becomes increasingly difficult for cars to remain eligible for modern rallying. Many of these cars are highly desirable (and valuable) and owners may not wish to subject them to the rough conditions of competitive rallying. So for them the chance to drive their cars enthusiastically on tarmac paths presents the ideal opportunity to enjoy the cars with minimum risk.
The rally stages are organised by the excellent Rallying with GB who ensure that the stage is properly managed, staffed and safe for drivers and spectators. My tip is to make sure you attend on the Saturday or Sunday as the rally stages are not held on the Friday. Also try to attend the morning sessions as the cars breakdown as the event progresses and by the last session of the weekend your favorite car could be missing.
Two exhibition halls house all manner of suppliers. If you are looking for specialist racing or rallying parts or even the opportunity to build a complete car then this is a good place to start. There are the inevitable model car sellers, books and art as well as purveyors of man cave products. For those of you who are looking for adventure on the road with your classic car there are plenty of organisation’s who put on Uk and international road rallies.
You will also find a programme of interviews with interesting people from the world of racing and rallying. Dai Llewellyn and Louise Aitken Walker gave interviews in between driving on the rally stages along with Tony Jardine and Jason Plato.
Outside there was a small Autojumble and a demonstration of historic Go karting.
The third hall is dedicated to Silverstone Auctions who had an extensive catalogue of cars to be sold. The most stunning sale was the 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 which sold for £590 500. Yes, almost £600 000. For a more modest £164 250 you could have bought the Emma Peel Avengers Lotus Elan. However there were plenty of more modest cars such as the Mercedese belonging to Tony Brooks for £4250 through to a good collection interesting cars in the £20 to £30k range (take a look here https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/)
If you are interested in the historic race and rally scene then this is the place to explore it more detail. Or, if you want to do what I did, take your son and explain to him how rallying was better when you were younger.